plurals; countable and uncountable; a/the/no article
CONTEXT LISTENING
You are going to hear some advertisements and announcements on a local radio station. Look at the pictures and match them to what you hear.
Listen to the first advertisement again and complete the sentences below using the places in the box. You sometimes need to add 'the'.
Insert your name and do the listening exercises
GRAMMAR
Plurals
Some things we wear or use are always plural.
They are made of two parts which cannot be separate:
trousers, pyjamas, shorts, jeans, tights, pants, sunglasses, glasses, scissors.
have a plural verb:
My trousers are new. (not My trouser is new.)
These shorts are dirty. (not This short is dirty.)
Other things we wear can be singular and are made of two parts which can be separate:
shoe/shoes
sock/socks
earring/earrings.
The word clothes is never singular:
I bought some new clothes. (not I bought a new clothe.)
A(n), the and no article
Countable and uncountable nouns
Countable nouns (e.g. shoe, passport)
can be singular with a, the:
a passport, the phone
I’ve got a problem. (not I’ve got problem.)
can be plural with no article, some or the:
shoes, some cars, the cars
have a singular or plural verb:
The car is new. The cars are new.
Uncountable nouns e.g. air, bread, food, help,
ice, music, money, pollution, rain, sand, travel:-
use the, some or no article but not a:
the money, some money, money (not a money)
cannot be plural:
money (not moneys), music (not musics)
always have a singular verb:
The music is perfect. (not The musics are perfect.)
Countable vs uncountable
These nouns are usually uncountable in English
Advice
Furniture
Hair
Homework
Information
Luck
Luggage
Money
News*
Traffic
Travel**
Weather
work
*news ends in s but is uncountable
**but trip and journey are countable
Counting the uncountable
When we want to count things which are uncountable nouns, we use words like a bag, a bottle, a box, a cup, a glass, a packet, a piece:
I need a bottle of water. (not I need a water.)
A piece of advice (not an advice)
A piece of furniture (= a table, a chair etc)
Many drinks can be countable or uncountable:
Would you like a coffee? (= a cup of coffee)
I’d like two coffees and a tea, please. (= 2 cups of coffee + 1 cup of tea)
I bought some coffee in the market. (= a packet of coffee)
The or no article
Places
There is no article before:
Continents, most countries, states, cities, towns, villages:
Europe, Italy, London, Florida
but we say
the Netherlands
buildings and places that use the name of their town:
Manchester Airport, Cardiff Station, Edinburgh Castle, Durham University
School, work, home, bed
We say
at school
at work
at home
in bed
We put the before:
names of countries that include a word like Republic or States:
the United States
the Czech Republic
oceans, seas and rivers:
the Pacific Ocean
the Danube
but not before lakes:
Lake Ontario
regions:
the Far East
the north
groups of islands:
the Philippines
the environment:
the sea, the coast, the seaside, the beach
the country, the mountains, the hills
the sky, the sun, the moon
Entertainment
We listen to the radio but we watch television.
We play the guitar (a musical instrument) but we play tennis (a sport).
We go to the cinema, the theatre etc.
Travel
We travel by train, bus etc. (not by the train.)
Meals
We have lunch, dinner etc. (not the lunch etc.)
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